Philosophy Now Forum

Eastern Promises Stepan [translating Tatiani’s diary]: "Kirill came down after me and he hit me until I was bleeding. Then he tried to rape me but he couldn’t do it…He just got madder and madder and kept hitting me. In the end his father came down. It was the father who raped me. He shouted at...

Anarchists imagine a world without government. It would look like this I suspect. The jungle. And, in some parts of the world, even with governments, it looks like this. What do you do to fight these monsters? It comes down to what you can do. And then what you have the courage to do. You are incens...

Epistemology “We don't get to say. Not if we want to save ourselves. We can't question everything. We have to be able to give the help that is asked for. Not what we think is needed. What is asked for. We justify ourselves with a thousand small acts of grace and charity. It's all meaningless. We wa...

Shortbus Jamie: Ah! You got a boner! Shabbos Goy: That’s my cell phone, you fuckin’ albino butch faggot! Leave me out of it. Jamie: Was that the first time someone sang the National Anthem into your ass? Ceth: No. Next up: the gerbil. Sofia [to Severin]: You are so far behind you think you are firs...

Logic “Yeah, all right, but everyone knows they torture people," mumbled Sam. "Do they?" said Vimes. "Then why doesn't anyone do anything about it?" "'cos they torture people.” Terry Pratchett "Or else!" on steroids? “It is obvious that leftists are not cool-...

The orgies are the least of it. Most of it revolves around some rather pithy [and witty] observations regarding human sexuality. Anything goes all the way around here. It’s really about the holes in our head we can’t fill…by, for example, becoming preoccupied with filling all the other ones. It’s ov...

Four Reasons Why Philosophy Is As Relevant As Ever Joanna Hughes 1. Philosophy teaches critical thinking Philosophy teaches critical thinking by encouraging students to question everything they are taught. Of course, my point here is that, yes, while few will deny philosophy can sharpen the mind in ...

A bunch a fuckin losers? Sure. Nickel and dime stuff day after day after day. But you still practice not saying it to their face. If you’re in the neighborhood. And they ain’t exactly living their lives like zombies. This being, you know, a man’s world. Still, sometimes I think folks like Scorsese a...

In The Loop Toby: Suzy, this is probably going to sound a bit odd under the circumstances, but… Suzy: A quickie? Meanwhile, back in Baghdad... Gen. Miller: No, you’re doing Linton’s dirty work. You’re his English bitch and you don’t even know it. I bet if I went into your hotel room tonight, I’d se...

In The Loop Malcolm Fucking hung up, haven’t you? You fucking hoity-toity fucking… Tourist: Hey, buddy? Enough with the curse words, all right? Malcolm: Kiss my sweaty balls, you fat fuck. He doesn't though. Karen: Yes, Assistant Secretary, on point six, it feels like there’s already been an assump...

Free Will “Free will is an illusion. Our wills are simply not of our own making.” Sam Harris He's compelled to remind us. “Free-will doesn't include shit-happens, unless that's the goal of one's intention.” Toba Beta How about you? Does yours? “Are we just radio sets? Tuned to a particular frequenc...

In The Loop Malcolm: You, hey, put the snifter out there that if the BBC ambushes a minister with another surprise question about the war, I’ll drop a bomb on them. Judy: I can’t do that, can I? That’s political. Malcolm: Does that not fit within your purview, Marie Antoinette? Why don’t you just s...

Bottom line: Liberal to the core. Another expose on the “best and the brightest”. In other words, with the actual nature of our political and economic system no where to be found. Someone called this the Spinal Tap of politics. True. Only this comes much, much, much closer to reality. It’s less that...

The Illusion of Illusionism Raymond Tallis sees through a physicalist confusion. There is an obvious objection to illusionism. How can I be wrong about the existence of something for which I have inescapable evidence? Of course, I can be mistaken as to the existence of something that I believe is ou...

The Illusion of Illusionism Raymond Tallis sees through a physicalist confusion. There is an obvious objection to illusionism. How can I be wrong about the existence of something for which I have inescapable evidence? Of course, I can be mistaken as to the existence of something that I believe is ou...